A Good Thing
by classicalreader313
Summary: The Professor tries to cheer up the others, so he takes them to watch the sunrise to remind them just how lucky they are. Set after Castaways Pictures Presents. Contains some MAG and Pinger.


**This is sort of a continuation of Castaways Pictures Presents, and the Professor tries to cheer everyone up after they hear the radio report. In this story there is some MAG and Pinger (mainly at the end), so if you don't like that, you might not want to read it.**

The castaways sullenly sat around the table. In place of their usual lively evening chatter, silence descended. All the noises of the surrounding jungle could be heard as they noiselessly ate their dinner. After the news on the radio, no one felt much like talking. Even Gilligan was being affected by the others' melancholy, and he stayed quiet, looking around the group at their disheartened faces. They couldn't believe that this plan hadn't worked. It seemed so foolproof. How could it be that not one person on the mainland recognized them?

The Professor had pondered this constantly since they had received the news. This failed rescue was even more disappointing, because it wasn't even as if it was something the castaways had done wrong. The Professor didn't often get sucked into believing in voodoo or curses, as the Skipper and the others often did, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason they were all on this island, a supernatural force keeping them trapped. He knew that sort of talk was foolish, but he couldn't help but think of it every now and then.

He felt awful, just looking around at their sad faces: the laughter in the Skipper's eyes was gone, Ginger's perfect lips were turned down in a frown, Mr. Howell pouted as he ate, Mary Ann breathed out in irritated huffs, Mrs. Howell remained quiet and aloof, her back as straight as a board. Gilligan, whose mouth usually ran a mile a minute, was eating in perfect silence, occasionally glancing up at the others. The Professor knew he needed to do something to remedy this situation, and he had and inkling of what to do.

He excused himself from the table, leaving the others in dejected silence.

* * *

><p>Gilligan was roused from his slumber by hands shaking him. "Please, just a bit longer," he pleaded, pulling his blanket tighter around him and shifting in the hammock. He felt the blanket being pulled off of him and he awoke with a start, almost flipping over and falling onto the Skipper, who still slept in the hammock beneath him. The only thing that kept him from tumbling down was the Professor gripping onto his arms and hauling him back upright. "Come on, Gilligan. Get up," the Professor urged and he sleepily got out of the hammock.<p>

"What's going on, Professor?" he asked around a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Almost five," the Professor answered as he shook the Skipper awake. As Gilligan's drooping eyes widened and he exclaimed loudly, "Five in the _morning_!" the Skipper's eyes snapped open and he fell out of his hammock and into the sand with an "oop!"

The first mate's look of shock vanished and he laughed. The Professor tried to hide his smile. The Skipper looked up at them, blinking the sleep and sand out of his eyes. The smiling Professor looked up at the young sailor and joked, "Looks like the sandman's got him." Gilligan let out a small laugh, though once the teacher turned back to the Skipper, he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Professor, what is this all about?" the Skipper demanded once he was sufficiently woken up… and sufficiently angry.

"Skipper, it's well… it's sort of difficult to explain," the Professor fumbled. "You'd have to come with me."

After a bit more grumbling from the Skipper and insistence from the Professor, the two sailors followed him out of their hut and into the clearing where the others were gathered. Mrs. Howell was wearing her nightgown and blue robe, and she peered through her lorgnette at them as they joined the rest of the castaways. Mr. Howell stood beside his wife, wrapped tightly in his robe with Teddy clutched to his chest and his nightcap placed haphazardly on his head. He would occasionally lean into her, his head tilting to the side, and Mrs. Howell would nudge him and he would wake up again with a snap.

Ginger had changed into a green cotton dress, and her hair was down loose around her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around her middle, as the early morning breeze was chilling her through the fabric. Mary Ann had pulled on a pair of shorts underneath the blue men's' shirt that she slept in and she looked exhausted, with her hair in messy pigtails. She kept shaking her head fiercely to wake herself up, and her pigtails flapped from side to side.

The three men joined them and the small group stood together tiredly, all wearing their pajamas, looking at the slowly brightening sky over the top of the palms trees in the jungle. Their world was slowly coming to life, and the Professor beckoned for them to follow him. The six others followed him, like zombies in a trance. They were careful going through the jungle, as many of them were in their bare feet except for the Howells who wore silk slippers, and they stepped over the underbrush as they made their way to the beach. They followed him, their feet occasionally dragging tiredly, and they grumbled in annoyance.

"Professor, what is the meaning of this?" Mr. Howell asked as he followed him, clutching Teddy to him with one hand and batting leaves and branches out of the way with the other.

"You'll see, Mr. Howell," he replied and he led on intrepidly.

The Professor stepped out of the jungle first and was met with the sight of the sun, just a glowing semicircle, rising over the endless expanse water that lay before them. This was how he wanted to cheer them up. It was usually Gilligan, and sometimes the Skipper, who took on this task, but this time the Professor wanted to bring a smile back to his friends' faces.

He heard gasps from behind him, and knew they were witnessing the same sight as him. The Professor turned and saw his fellow castaways, their faces lit up with wonder. He smiled widely and proudly, glad to see them not looking so downtrodden. All of their anger and annoyance melted away as they stopped on the shore. The Howells had their arms linked and they were holding hands tightly. Mrs. Howell laid her head against her husband's shoulder as they watched the sun rise slowly, exploding the sky into red and pinks and oranges and purples.

His eyes found Ginger, and her hair shown just as brilliantly as the mélange of fantastic colors in the sky. The movie star looked over at him and caught his eye. He blushed and looked back out at the water and the color that rippled through the waves. He then felt warmth next to him and an arm threading through his. He knew it was Ginger, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

The sun rose over the surface of the ocean and rose higher into the sky as joy filled the castaways' hearts. The Skipper crushed both Gilligan and Mary Ann in a powerful hug, and the three spun around, laughing and smiling. Mary Ann let out shrieking giggles, and the others were happy to see the three of them in such good spirits.

As they all looked up at the sky, the colors grew more vivid, and they painted across the sky, as far as they could see. Behind them, the sky was darker, not yet touched by the sun's rays, but ahead was a beautiful tableau of red, pink, purple, and orange. Skipper, who had an arm around his little buddy's shoulder felt the tension and stress of the recent weeks melting off of him, and Gilligan stared all around him in wonder, his heart rising like a balloon, and he was overwhelmed with joy. Suddenly, he let out a whoop and raced down the beach to the water. Mary Ann let out a laugh and ran after him. As they both jumped over the small waves, the reflected sky broke into fragments of color, like scrambled mosaic pieces.

The two youngest castaways splashed each other, laughing so hard that they were gasping for breath. The Skipper watched them fondly, letting out hearty laughs, especially when Gilligan tripped and fell down in the surf, taking the farm girl down with him. The two caught their breath as they stood up, their pajamas soaked through, and they looked at the sky, as the sun rose, bit by bit. Mary Ann looked up at the first mate and the look of awe on his face as the sun's glow reflected in his eyes. She smiled and reached up, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck and pulling him down to press a soft kiss to his cheek. He blushed lightly, and to Mary Ann's surprise, he grinned and wrapped his arms around her middle, lifting her up and spinning her around in circles. She laughed, her heart soaring as her chin rested on his shoulder and she watched as the sea, the jungle, and their friends standing on the shore whizzed past in a blur.

Mrs. Howell squeezed her husband's hand and they both smiled. "Oh Thurston, those dear children," she murmured, and they watched them as parents would watch their own children. Mr. Howell kissed his wife on the forehead as she leaned against his shoulder.

As they all stood on the beach as the sun rose ever higher, the beautiful vivid red and purples faded to the clear blue that they had become so well acquainted with. They all realized why the Professor had brought them out here, and how lucky they really were to even be watching this sunrise and luckier still to have made such wonderful friends.

"Yes, Lovey, those dear, dear children," he said finally, smiling.

"Thurston?"

"Yes, Lovey?"

"I'd rather be here than anywhere else," his wife admitted.

He pulled her closer to him and nodded. "As would I."

As the Skipper walked down towards the surf the Professor disentangled his arm from Ginger's and instead wrapped it around her waist. They both were happy, and the Professor was more than thrilled to see his friends brought out of the darkness that had surrounded them since they had received the radio report.

Ginger leaned in closer to him and kissed the side of his mouth before snuggling in close to him and whispering in his ear, "You've done a good thing, Professor."


End file.
